Articles related to PEDIATRIC CANCER

Perelman School of Medicine’s David Teachey, MD, reviews outcomes and implications from two recent Children’s Oncology Group trials and describes current research with daratumumab and CAR T-cell therapy.

Patients with T-LL had significantly improved EFS and OS with bortezomib on the AALL1231 backbone. Systemic therapy intensification allowed elimination of CRT in more than 90% of patients with T-ALL without excess relapse. There was no difference in rates of receiving CRT.

This Original Report from the Journal of Clinical Oncology based on the ARST0332 trial concludes: “The risk-based treatment strategy used in ARST0332 produced favorable outcomes in patients with nonmetastatic synovial sarcoma (SS) relative to historical controls despite using RT less frequently and at lower doses. The outcome for metastatic SS remains unsatisfactory and new therapies are urgently needed.”

Having a child with cancer is one of the most stressful events for any parent to endure. And, according to a report in JAMA Network Open, that stress contributes to often fractious relationships between parents and the medical teams treating their cancer-stricken children. JAMA reports that a quarter of parents have a difficult, or challenging, relationship with their pediatric oncologist and related medical team. The study also found that the tense feelings are mutual between parents and doctors. Among physicians surveyed, 37.6% reported that they felt the relationships they had with parents of the children they treated were challenging.

To define the spectrum of alterations common at relapse, the researchers in this study performed integrated profiling of 136 relapsed pediatric AML cases with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), whole-genome sequencing, and target-capture sequencing. In addition, well-characterized fusion oncoproteins were identified, as were somatic mutations in UBTF (upstream binding transcription factor). See the results from the late-breaking abstract being presented at the ASH Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

In this series from Blood that tackles four cases studies, the outcomes of AML pediatric patients compared to children with ALL is explored, focusing on the emerging new treatments venetoclax (Venclexta; AbbVie/Genentech), CD33- and CD123-directed CAR T-cell therapy, CD123-directed antibody therapy, and menin inhibitors.